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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;color:black">Episode No. 2, "To Die for Spain"<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:black"><img width="371" height="281" style="width:3.8645in;height:2.927in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01D433A8.FC3E7160"></span></b><b><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:black">I open this commentary with a reminiscence from John Finch:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:#7030A0">People rarely think of snow when they think of Spain. With this in mind I had set the episode in the heat of a Spanish summer. Needless to say, with our minuscule budget we couldn't even contemplate actually
filming in Spain. What we did was find an area in Derbyshire, which viewers would accept as being Spain even though it was Britain in winter. In this we were driven by a schedule which left no alternative.<br>
<br>
Director Tim Jones, the crew and the actors all went off, and I settled down to finish a later episode I was working on. At some point a white-faced producer, Richard Doubleday, came through my office door. "We've had a call from Derbyshire," said Richard,
"and Tim says they'll have to pack up and come home because it is snowing and the long-term forecast is bad". Catastrophe stared us in the face. We were on such a tight schedule that the loss of even a couple of days shooting would be disaster.
<br>
<br>
I was as shattered as Richard was, but some little thought came into my head from something I might have read when I was researching the Spanish Civil War. "Tell Tim to stay put until he hears from us," I said. I got hold of Margaret Lord , the researcher,
and told her what I'd like her to do. She went away, but soon came back. "You're right," she said, "there was fighting in the Pyrenees and at that time of year it would be quite likely that it was snowing. So that's how Norton died for Spain in the snow.</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:#7030A0"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:black">John's interesting account of that production challenge only goes to show that sometimes an unexpected predicament (Derbyshire snowstorm) can be turned into a plus. I think the snowy landscape added much to
this episode, as did the actors’ visible breathing in the chilly air.<br>
<br>
In my opinion, the role of Parker has to constitute one of the most thoroughly reprehensible characters in the series. For that, I think John Ronane deserves much praise for a taut, memorable performance. Parker would seem to have precious few redeeming qualities.
Much later, after four and a half years have passed, he will turn up once more in “Clash by Night,” and again he appears dangerous, not to be trusted. Of course, by then he has disavowed communism, and the character, now a diabetic, has become a quite vulnerable
because of his need for insulin injections.<br>
<br>
One philosophical thought: I wonder why Parker did not fire a second (fatal) shot at Philip, as he did at Norton. Was it because he was distracted by issuing orders to the other men, or did he have some ulterior motive for allowing this other “deserter” to
walk free?<br>
<br>
I am intrigued by the relationship between Lieutenant Norton and Podmore. The fact that Podmore was once Norton’s student at school somehow cultivates my sympathy for both men — a fragile, tenuous connection to the past, before the nightmarish turn both of
their lives would take.<br>
<br>
The scene shifts to Liverpool. As in the first episode, John Porter is received coolly at the Ashtons’. Philip is decidedly uncommunicative with him, almost to the point of being rude. In this case, I suppose it can be attributed to the fact that Philip is
pre-occupied by his recuperation from the leg wound. Also preying on his mind is the fateful decision to return to Spain and all of the heartache his departure is sure to cause. In any case, I feel sorry for John, who is shy and not much of a conversationalist
in the best of circumstances. Later on, particularly during the post-war election, his social skills will develop more fully, and he becomes a passionate and even eloquent advocate of the Labour cause.<br>
<br>
I cannot close without mentioning that touching scene when Margaret and her father are reconciled — wonderfully acted. It clearly demonstrates the strong bond of love that exists between the two.</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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